"The Vampire Diaries" star Paul Wesley decided to step out from in front of the camera for the first time
to take over directing duties. His episode (Season 5, episode 18, "Resident Evil") airs Thursday, April 17, and he couldn't be more excited for fans to see all his hard work pay off.

Zap2it caught up with Wesley before he took to the stage for
"The Vampire Diaries" PaleyFest panel on Saturday (March 22), and he smiled as he reflected on his first day at the helm of the show. "It was really oddly-natural for me," Wesley tells
Zap2it. "It didn't feel all that scary or anything. Like, I was nervous for the first hour but then I just got right in the zone. I'll be honest, it was probably more comfortable to do that than be in front of the camera, for me."

In fact, Wesley enjoyed directing so much that he's already counting down the days until he can do it again. "Oh yeah, I am definitely going to do it again," Wesley says. "Not just on 'Vampire Diaries,' either. I'd love to direct other things, too."

Wesley is grateful for all the people who helped him with his directorial debut, making sure to note that he couldn't have done it alone. "Lots of people gave me some great advice before I did it," Wesley says. "I was also shadowing people, and I was asking a lot of questions. It was a whole process. It was great. I learned a lot and I had a great time doing it."

And like Wesley's off-screen life, he's also taking on more responsibility on-screen, as we're
about to meet another Stefan doppelgÃ¤nger. What we know about Stefan 2.0: He's an EMT. He's living in Atlanta. And Caroline and Enzo are on their way to kill him. Yikes!

Unfortunately, Wesley didn't want to spill the beans on any more details about his new onscreen role, except for one major aspect: His hair. "He has a side swoop. His hair is a
side swoop," Wesley says with a laugh. "It's a whole new look for me. That's all I got for you. It's going to be an interesting episode. You'll see."

While Wesley wouldn't spoil whether or not Caroline can actually go through with killing an innocent Stefan doppelgÃ¤nger, he did reveal that "Steroline" fans have something to look forward to in this Thursday's (March 27) episode. "They have a nice scene in the Traveler camp in the next episode," Wesley says. "They have nice, mini, friendly/romantic moment. It's more friendly than anything else. But personally, yeah, I would love that to turn into something romantic."

All season long, the Travelers have been on the fringes of the story, but Wesley warns that these bohemian witches will play a big part in how Season 5 ends. "You're going to meet their leader, Markos," Wesley says. "The Travelers have an agenda and he's putting on this innocuous act. And actually, the first time Markos speaks is in my episode. He's quite a good actor. I like him.
His name's Raffi [Barsoumian]."

And what about the brotherly bond that started it all on "TVD?" We haven't seen Stefan and his brother Damon interact much recently, much to Wesley's chagrin. "Yeah, we haven't had a good bro scene in a while. Those are my favorite scenes, actually, and I've heard that from a lot of people," Wesley says. "We'll see more of them, as brothers ... and
lovers."

"I'm kidding," Wesley says with a laugh. "They are brothers that love and hate each other in equal measure. Nothing more."